Winning Without Fighting: The Chinese Psychological Warfare Challenge - Dean Cheng, heritage.org: "It seems clear that the Chinese take psychological warfare very seriously and believe that America’s use of such tactics is a major factor in the recent success of U.S. military operations. ... It is ironic that the Chinese see the United States as pursuing a much more coherent, integrated approach to psychological operations when Western analyses and policy approaches seem to treat psychological operations as discrete entities. Many Western policymakers differentiate between psychological warfare at the strategic level, involving national tools such as strategic communications and public diplomacy, and more tactical-level efforts waged by dedicated psychological warfare units.

Indeed, the renaming of the latter as 'military information support operations (MISO)' underscores this significant but artificial divide in the American approach. Given the radical advances in information technology and the attendant globalization and permeation of information, psychological operations need to be seen in a more holistic light. Consequently, reducing obstacles to information flow and public outreach is the most important thing America can do to improve its psychological warfare capabilities. Whether at the strategic or tactical level, there needs to be an overarching communications plan, incorporating all of the relevant agencies and entities, to convey to the rest of the world that the United States is a reliable ally and steadfast partner, willing to cooperate with other states to advance our mutual interests but fully prepared to counter aggression against friends and allies. Whether the United States government is seeking to deter, persuade, coerce, or placate others, it can succeed only by presenting a coherent message. To this end, the U.S. government, and especially Congress, should continue to break down such barriers, as was done recently with modernization of the Smith–Mundt Act.[21] Helle Dale, 'Smith–Mundt Modernization: Better Late than Never,' The Heritage Foundation, The Foundry, May 22, 2013, http://blog.heritage.org/2012/05/22/smith-mundt-modernization-better-late-than-never/; BBG Strategy, 'New Law Ends Smith–Mundt Ban on Domestic Dissemination of Content,' January 4, 2013, http://www.bbgstrategy.com/2013/01/new-law-uends-smith-mundt-ban-on-domestic-dissemination-of-content/ (accessed June 14, 2013).] At the strategic level, this entails improving inter-agency strategic communications, including coordination of messages and efforts among the major foreign policy departments—State, Defense, Commerce, Treasury, and even the Departments of Justice and Agriculture, both of which regularly interact with foreign governments and non-governmental organizations. Only by creating and transmitting unified messages can the United States gain the initiative in influencing foreign governments and populations, whether allied, adversary, or neutral. The Pentagon, which does not necessarily have the expertise, should not head this inter-agency effort. Furthermore, such an operation should also extend beyond the State Department and might well involve the reestablishment of the United States Information Agency, drawing upon the public diplomacy resources of the entire government." Image from

NIAC [National Iranian American Council] Policy Memo: Why are U.S. sanctions blocking medicine for Iranians and how can we fix this? - "Beginning in 2012, there have been widespread reports that U.S. and European sanctions on Iran, in addition to Iranian government mismanagement, have created shortages of life-saving medicine in Iran, including drugs needed to treat cancer, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, thalassemia and some other severe ailments. There are several Executive Order sanctions under which Iran’s international banks are sanctioned, notably Executive Order 13224 (terrorism) and Executive Order 13382 (proliferation). Any financial institution, foreign or domestic, risks being cut off from the U.S. financial system if it does any business with these banks. .... Potential Solutions: The Administration should open banking channels for authorized transactions by providing third country banks a blanket waiver that they will not be sanctioned for facilitating legitimate humanitarian transactions. Alternatively, the Administration could heed the recommendation of a recent Atlantic Council report by '[d]esignating a small number of US and private Iranian financial institutions as channels for payment for humanitarian, educational, and public diplomacy-related transactions carefully licensed by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.' This measure would completely cut out the need to use foreign banks as intermediaries."

Bumpy transition to democracy for Egypt - Matthew Kennedy, vaildaily.com: "The United States and European Union are the two outside players that could adversely or favorably influence Egypt’s political climate. Both will need to avoid meddling in Cairo’s domestic affairs.

The best approach for both is to set an example for how democracies should or shouldn’t operate. At most, they should employ public diplomacy to influence the situation. Any kind of intervention beyond those measures may unintentionally reverse key progress in Egypt’s political environment." Image from

US Embassy Juba: Dear Congress, This Facility Puts Employees “At Risk” But Hey, Waivers - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: "The South Sudan gained independence on July 9, 2011, after being at war with Sudan for nearly 40 of the past 57 years. USCG Juba became an embassy the same time. In early 2013, State/OIG conducted an inspection of the USG’s newest embassy in the world. The mission is headed by Ambassador Susan D. Page who arrived at post in December 2011; DCM Michael McClellan arrived at post in September 2012. At just one paragraph, the leadership section of the OIG report is a haiku and the shortest we’ve seen ever. ... Public Diplomacy Fail: $600 Million in Aid and Locals Don’t Know It’s From Uncle Sam? [From the report:] 'The PAO does not hold regular planning meetings with the Ambassador or the DCM, and there is no mission public diplomacy strategy. Other than the daily 'gaggle' in the Ambassador’s office, which concentrates mostly on the agenda of the day, the only planning meeting is the weekly extended political section meeting once a week on Fridays.

That meeting does not lend itself to an exchange of information on how the public affairs section can support mission objectives. The USAID mission has a budget of more than $600 million, but USAID public affairs support is located in Washington. The Ambassador is an active promoter of USAID activities and often opens projects for them. USAID has brought on board an LE staff member in public affairs and is now in the process of hiring a documentation, outreach, and communications U.S. direct hire. It is important for the PAO to think ahead about how best to coordinate her work and that of the USAID documentation, outreach, and communications officer. As is, according to one interviewee, 'the man on the street has no idea that the United States is contributing more than $600 million in assistance to South Sudan.'”

Celebrating the Class of 2013: US Consul-General hosts nominees of The Future Awards Africa - jstsaying.com: "The nominees of The Future Awards Africa 2013 took the spotlight as The United States consulate hosted the inspiring young Africans to a reception at the Ikoyi, Lagos residence of the Consul-General, Jeffrey Hawkins. ... The event was attended by distinguished young Nigerians and celebrity guests including TIME 100 honouree Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Bez Idakula, Tara Fela-Durotoye, Ohimai Atafo, Waje, Joseph Benjamin, Gideon Okeke, Mathilda Obaseki and others. ... Nominees were presented with Nomination Certificates by officials

including Public Diplomacy Official, Rhonda Watson." Image from entry, with caption: Public Diplomacy Official Rhonda Watson presenting a certificate to a nominee

Preserving American History, One Reel At A Time - Jeff Anthony, blog.ironmountain.com- "In 1951, legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow launched a ground-breaking radio program called “This I Believe,” featuring American icons – Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson – and everyday citizens reading self-penned short essays on their individual values and motivations. The series, which ran in the U.S. until 1955, was an international phenomenon, broadcast

on nearly 200 stations across America and in 97 countries all over the world. ... When the series ended, this collection of 800 oral essays was captured on 200 reel-to-reel audio tapes – the only known copies of this landmark series. They provided an audio time capsule of American society in the 1950s as seen by ordinary and extraordinary citizens alike. The tapes became the property of the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, a Boston school that is home to the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy." Image from entry

BBG: Audience of 203m for $720m. BBC Global: 256m for $352m- Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: Elliot comment: "There are two reasons for BBC Global's greater efficiency. One is that it is a single, unified multimedia effort. USIB consists of multiple entities, with overlap in 26 languages. Second, BBC Global is militant about guarding its independence, and clear about its news mission. The BBG is more ambiguous about its news function, and its mission statement does not even mention news. In comparing audience sizes, it could be pointed out that USIB, unlike BBC Global, does not broadcast to North America, so subtract about 40 million from the BBC estimate. (But now that the domestic dissemination prohibition has been lifted, the BBG will probably begin to count its internet metrics from the USA, so this convenient deduction may no longer be available.) Also, subtract the BBC's 2.4 million in Australia/Pacific and 12.7 million in Western Europe, two other places outside of the USIB coverage area. And, finally, the BBC World News audience of about 26 million could also be subtracted, because USIB has no global English-language television news channel. By tying these four arms behind the BBC's back, USIB can claim that its audience is larger in the target countries and in the media it shares with BBC Global."

Image from article, with caption: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama end their press conference in Jerusalem on March 20, 2013.

Israel’s New Ambassador Is Not a Republican—In Name Only - Marc Tracy, New Republic: "[The new ambassador] Ron Dermer, 42, born in the U.S.A., worked for his old professor Frank Luntz nearly 20 years ago helping facilitate the 1994 Republican takeover of the House of Representatives. Despite being both a son and a brother to former Democratic mayors of Miami Beach, his instincts are conservative, and come in a distinctly American rather than Israeli accent. ... Jeff Goldberg is reporting that ‘Dermer was endorsed by Kerry and the State Department. White House acquiesced. But not happily.’ Clearly Dermer is not the pick Bibi makes if he wants to maximize amiability with the administration. But, as Smith reported in 2010, despite gaping ideological and even personal differences between Netanyahu and Obama, 'the staff relationships have gone swimmingly, something for which Dermer is often credited.' And besides: The ambassador to the U.S.’s job is as much a role of public diplomacy—being the constant face of the Israeli government in America and to Americans—as it is a role of actual, state-to-state diplomacy, which, given the prominence of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, is frequently left to military commanders, cabinet ministers, and heads of government. But that’s just it—that is why Dermer can’t possibly be the best choice for public diplomat. Compare him to Michael Oren, the current ambassador. Oren is an esteemed scholar (a professor at Yale) and writer (of books and articles, primarily for The New Republic) who served in the military as a spokesperson to foreign correspondents. In other words, Oren is well-respected across the American media landscape and has a specialty in dealing with American press; and duly some of his finest moments as ambassador have come when he was communicating Israel’s positions through the press, such as in several fine Wall Street Journal op-eds. I strongly suspect he has been just as effective as a behind-the-scenes flack for the government he serves. Dermer, by contrast, is reputed to have ties to conservative media, but that is a far cry from the widespread prestige Oren had earned; and Dermer has gone out of his way to antagonize at least one very important media outlet. Specifically, he is famous for telling off the New York Times."

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Head of state and tour guide - Shlomo Cesana, israelhayom.com: "The Prime Minister's Office has titled Netanyahu's stint as a tour guide on Peter Greenberg's international television program, which has an average viewership of about 300 million, 'Bishvil Israel' which can be translated as 'for Israel' and also as 'in the path of Israel,' aiming to encourage tourism to Israel. Tourism Minister Uzi Landau, who is taking part in the project, has high hopes for the mega-production. ... Landau explains that this project carries great significance in terms of public diplomacy in addition to the financial and tourism aspects. Countries where the program was filmed in the past subsequently enjoyed a spike in tourism.

In 2012, Israel had a record year: 3,520,000 tourists visited Israel. Most of the tourists came from the U.S., which is also where most of the Greenberg's viewers reside. Therefore, the show could serve to bolster Israel's relations with the U.S. in a friendly manner. Beyond that, the Tourism Ministry is hoping that the program will help bring an additional 200,000 tourists to Israel, which translates into growth of more than a billion shekels in the course of a year. (In 2012, tourism brought in 36 billion shekels.) The show began filming last June (in Rosh Hanikra, Haifa, Caesarea, and holy sites around Jerusalem), but production stopped when Netanyahu broke his leg during a soccer game. Filming resumed this summer, following Netanyahu to Tiberias, the Jordan Valley, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Masada, the Dead Sea and Eilat. "This is a program that shows the real Israel -- a different Israel" Netanyahu explained this week. "The Israel that you don't normally see when you are sitting in your living room watching television. People need to see that this is a country of fun." Image from entry, with caption: For Israel: Benjamin, Avner and Sara Netanyahu alongside producer and journalist Peter Greenberg in the Western Wall Tunnels

Fresh out of Foreign Ministry, Ayalon joins private ‘hasbara’ field - Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post: Move over, StandWithUS. Look out, Israel 21c. Make way, The Israel Project. Yet another private hasbara (public diplomacy) initiative was launched recently to spread “the truth” about Israel. Indeed, this one is actually called 'The Truth About Israel,' and is headed by former deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon. The mission statement on its website defines the organization as a 'nonprofit company to educate and train the public about the facts of Israel in today’s world.' Asked if the world really needed another private hasbara organization vying for the same donor dollars, and whether it would not be better to work through the existing frameworks, Ayalon said that just as there were many and variegated organizations working to delegitimize Israel, 'we also want a network of hasbara organizations that will be interlinking.' One Israeli official working in another hasbara apparatus had a somewhat different take. 'It’s a Jewish thing,' the official said. 'Call it the breakaway synagogue syndrome. Everyone wants to be synagogue president; everyone thinks their shul offers something different.' ... Ayalon said his organization – which will put out weekly videos on the major issues of the day, presenting facts and giving Israel’s advocates the tools and information to combat misconceptions and misreporting – will be a 'force multiplier that can be used by all the others.' ... The formula for Ayalon’s videos are relatively simple.

Take an issue in the news that is impacting on Israel’s image, analyze how it is being perceived abroad and the different misconceptions, and then present Israel’s position – or at least Ayalon’s perception of Israel’s position. ... Asked whether this type of activity was not better performed by the Foreign Ministry, Ayalon said that while the ministry has the best manpower for this job, it simply does not have an adequate budget. He said he will have a $1 million to $2 million annual budget, while the entire annual budget inside the Foreign Ministry for hasbara is $10m. Ayalon said he realized his videos would not convince those opposed to Israel, but that they were geared toward 'empowering the base' – Israel supporters abroad and Israeli businessmen and tourists going abroad – with the tools to deal with the anti-Israel arguments they will likely encounter. The Israeli official involved in hasbara quoted above said that while the new effort was 'praiseworthy,' it was a case of preaching to the converted." Image from article, with caption: Former deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon

When Did A Mitzvah Become a Good Deed? - Yael Weinstein - caje-co.org: "So what photo represents Israel through your lens? Or is it a photo, maybe it is a memory, writing, or something you picked up on your travels. Now take that feeling you get when you look at your item and think about how important it was for you to have that experience. Our source of knowledge comes from our experiences and without going to Israel we do not have the experience to form our own lens. And if you need more inspiration, check out the Once in a Lifetime HD project run by Tel Aviv University students who are taking part in the StandWithUs Fellowship, a public diplomacy program. Using Instagram, a popular photo editing and sharing smartphone application, 10 leading users of the photo app joined together to show Israel through their lens. This is the final product."

It’s not yet clear what final decision Russia will make on Snowden - matisak: "[Comment by:] Eric Ehrmann, on 14/07/2013 at 02:26 said: ... Social and online media create drama. Snowden is no Jonathan Pollard but he is a major counterintelligence failure for US. The 'reset' was a public diplomacy branded product that has provided mixed, non-quantifiable results. The blowback will be contained to Latin America, which is no longer 'America’s backyard' as US Secretary of State Kerry still likes to call it.

Russia, China and Washington are all vying for influence in the region and some U.S. authors and scholars see the resurgence of a socialist left, when the political reality suggests it is a manufactured or 'fake' left, that has more to do with Latin corporativism and the cultural penchant for vertical authority." Image rom

New steps being taken to improve Russia’s image abroad- Lyudmila Alexandrova, ITAR-TASS: "For years, the authorities have been seriously pondering over the problem how to improve Russia's image abroad. Recently, the Russian authorities have been taking new steps to improve Russia' image abroad. Thus, the Positive Russia Foundation has been established in London with the aim of creating a positive image of Russia in Great Britain, Izvestia daily said in Tuesday's issue, quoting Duma MP Vasily Shestakov-one of the head officials of the new foundation, as saying. ... Shestakov is an old friend of Vladimir Putin. The two know each other since school years when Shestakov and Vladimir Putin used to go in for sport together. Shestakov and Putin are the co-authors of several books on judo- 'Judo History, Theory, Practice', and 'Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin.' The authorities have been seriously pondering over the problem how to improve Russia's image abroad. For this purpose the Kremlin has already invited leading PR agencies, created a TV channel, opened several radio stations and offices of printed media orientated at foreign audiences. Regrettably, all these steps have not been effective enough. In the 'Trust Barometer' ratings annually released by one the leading PR agencies - the Edelman company, Russia is invariably lagging behind, being either in the last or one before last positions. The workers of the Edelman company questioned more than 30,000 respondents in 26 countries, but only around one third of the respondents interviewed said that they have confidence in the Russian organizations, political leaders and Russian-made goods. In February 2012, when a new concept of Russian foreign politics was adopted, and the notion of a 'soft force' was first mentioned in the document in the context of the international image, Dmitry Medvedev, who was Russian president then, instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to begin the work on creating a positive image of Russia which should conform to the prestige of its culture, education, science, sports, the level of the development of the civic society, create the levers of influencing the vision of Russia abroad and improve the system of the use of the 'soft force.' The Federal Agency on the Commonwealth of Independent States and Compatriot Relationship( Rossotrudnichestvo) was instructed to promote foreign investments into Russia, which should improve its 'reputation'. As of June 5, 2013 media outlets released reports that for the formation of Russia's positive image this federal agency would be presumably allocated huge funds and have its powers considerably broadened. The volume of financing of this federal agency will continue to grow, the reports said. The process of the formation of the positive image envisages the employment of public diplomacy as well, including the development of the humanitarian aspects of border cooperation, revival of the Societies of Friendship with foreign countries, development of new forms for promoting Russia's culture and its modern art. All of these steps represent merely a few trends in the formation of Russia's positive image. The British foundation is not the first organization which deals with the image of Russia. In 2007 the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation, which has branch departments in New York and Paris, was created on the initiative of Vladimir Putin. The task of this organization is to study western democratic systems, develop bilateral relations with foreign non- governmental organizations, give support to Russian and foreign mass media which promote an objective coverage of the election process in Russia and abroad. Since 2006 Russia has been cooperating with the U.S. PR agency Ketchum, which also deals with problems of creating Russia's positive image. In particular, the Ketchum agency organizers meetings of Russian politicians with their counterparts from abroad and interviews for the world mass media. But, despite all that the image of Russia remains negative. Russia's image in the United States, for instance, is pretty bad.

Partly it is connected with the realistic problems which exist now, but most often these problems are presented in an excessively exaggerated form, which does not conform to the reality. Regrettably, there are influential forces in the West which for different reasons gain certain advantage by presenting Russia in the most disadvantageous form, said President of the American University in Moscow Eduard Lozansky. In May 2013 the Globe Scan/PIPA company conducted a public opinion poll in 22 countries in which around 24,000 were interviewed. According to the poll, the attitude to Russia of the majority of the respondents remained negative. One third of the respondents interviewed (31 percent) said they have a positive attitude to Russia, but their number was three points down the number of the respondents with a positive attitude to Russia last year. A negative attitude to Russia was expressed by 36 percent of the respondents like in the previous poll. In France, Germany and South Korea more than half of the respondents interviewed expressed a negative attitude to Russia. Canadians and Britons either demonstrated an attitude to Russia which proved negative to nearly 50 percent. Despite the aspirations cherished by Russian officials to see Russia associated in the minds of foreigners with a high- quality education, high technologies, attractive terms for investments and doing business in Russia, their aspirations to change the situation do not work yet, 'Polit. Ru on-line' said on its website. Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Agency Konstantin Kosachev has declared that 'Russia's image in the mass media is worse than the real situation in Russia; this country does not deserve such a reputation even despite the Pussy Riot, Magnitsky, Politkovskaya, Khodorkovsky,' Kosachev said." Image from MT on FacebookRussian senator blames underfunding for loss on influence in post-Soviet space - russialist.org: "The Federation Council is concerned that Russia is losing influence in the post-Soviet space because of the lack of funds to finance Russian NCOs (noncommercial organizations) which work there. Igor Morozov, a member of the Committee on International Affairs, told a Federation Council meeting on Wednesday (10 July) that the European Union and Western countries were very active these days in their use of 'soft power'

in the post-Soviet space. 'In this situation, Russia is losing influence in the post-Soviet space, and the problem is the lack of funds to finance our NCOs which work in that space,' Morozov said. Even the foundations created by the government of the Russian Federation are seriously underfunded by the Finance Ministry, and the plan of top priority CIS events approved by the Council of the Heads of Governments of the CIS is disrupted as a result, he said. The senator complained that even the humanitarian projects initiated by Russia in the CIS were being suspended or continued without Russia. 'This is a new trend: we are losing and players from the European Union and Western countries are playing an increasingly active part. Russian NCOs suffer serious damage to their image from this,' Morozov said. He gave the example of the situation with the interstate foundation for cooperation within the CIS, which had not funded a single event in the multilateral format since the beginning of this year. Both our partners and our ambassadors who work in post-Soviet countries talk about this. Meanwhile, the senator said, not one penny of the planned funds for the development of the foundation has been received from the federal budget this year. 'Things are no better with Russian World, Public Diplomacy and some other foundations,' the senator said. A decision was taken in view of this to instruct the international affairs and budget committees to find out why this situation had arisen. 'The situation has to be put right as soon as possible so as not to lose our influence in the post-Soviet space once and for all, Morozov said in conclusion." Image from, with caption: Post-Soviet States

The return of the typewriter? - 2164th.blogspot.com: [Comment by:]"DeuceFri Jul 12, 12:26:00 PM EDT By the way: Vyacheslav Nikonov Chairman of the Management Board of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, Russian State Duma Deputy, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, President of the Polity Foundation, Unity for Russia Foundation, Editor-in-Chief of Russia's Strategy, Dean of the Moscow State University School of Public Administration ... In 1996 he became the Deputy Chairman of President Yeltsin’s re-election campaign. In 1997-2001 Vyacheslav Nikonov was a member of the Presidential Political Advisory Council, the Presidential Human Rights Committee and the Presidential Expert Council on Political Extremism. From 2006 to 2009 he was a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and headed that organization’s committee on international cooperation and public diplomacy."

Revamping the information service - Khawaja Maaz Tariq, nation.com.pk: "Of prime importance is the External Publicity (EP) Wing [of Pakistan's Ministry of Information], which carries out the function of public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is regarded as the framework of activities by which a government seeks to influence the public (especially foreign) attitudes in a manner that they become supportive of its foreign policy and national interests. It differs from traditional diplomacy in that public diplomacy goes beyond governments and interfaces primarily with non-governmental individuals and organisations, like businessmen, think-tanks, tourists, sport institutions, etc. Successful public diplomacy, thus, involves an active engagement with the public in a manner that builds over a period of time, a relationship of trust and credibility. The EP Wing strives to foster a greater understanding of Pakistan and its foreign policy concerns. It is an age of ideas marked by the battle for hearts and minds. The wing goes all-out to partner with major domestic and international universities, think-tanks and research organisations to organise seminars and conferences on subjects that are relevant to Pakistan’s concerns. Promotion of music and food constitute important elements of Pakistan’s soft power. In addition, a series of documentaries on contributions made by the government, NGOs, media and various individuals in their own fields of work or in improving socio-economic conditions go a long way towards promoting the soft image of Pakistan."

The Indian Foreign Service: Worthy of an Emerging Power? - Sudha Ramachandran, thediplomat.com: "Two divisions of the MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] that could contribute significantly to India’s long-term strategizing are the Policy Planning and Research Division and the Public Diplomacy. These need to be strengthened. There is an urgent need for the IFS to step out of its ivory tower.

It needs to become more consultative and engage more with outside experts and institutions. As for think tanks and universities, they need to produce more work that is policy-oriented, if they want their input to be taken seriously by the MEA." Image from article

Embassy News: Conference on North east India titled “Negotiating Ethnicity – Politics and Display of Cultural Identities in Northeast India” in Vienna - indianembassy.at: "A conference on North East India titled “Negotiating Ethnicity – Politics and Display of Cultural Identities in Northeast India” was opened at the Institute of Tibetan, Buddhist and South Asian Studies, Vienna University for three days on the 4, 5, 6 July 2013. Ambassador Swaminathan addressed the participants. The Conference was organized with the support of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Institute for Social Anthropology and Phonogrammarchiv), the Doctoral College/Initiativkolleg 'Cultural Transfers and Cross-Contacts in the Himalayan Borderlands' (Austrian Science Fund and University of Vienna), the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies of the University of Vienna and the Embassy of India in Vienna.

The Public Diplomacy Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs supported the event by providing funds for logistics and honorarium for the panelists. The conference was divided into 13 Panels with 53 participants. The chairpersons of the panels were from India, Europe, USA and Australia. The conference focused on various aspects of the culture, polity, religion, ethnic identities etc. of the North East Indian region." Uncaptioned image from entry

SA bands to tour Spain's main music festivals - JT Communication Solutions, artlink.co.za: "This week, two South African bands BCUC and Touchwood are jetting off to Spain to perform at some of the country’s major summer music festivals. This is thanks to a groundbreaking Spanish-South African cultural initiative supported by the SAMRO Foundation. Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC) and Touchwood are set to bring their very different but distinctively African-flavoured musical stylings to a number of popular Spanish events for two weeks in July. They earned this rare opportunity to crack the international market as the winners of the recent Johannesburg Vis-à-Vis battle of the bands competition, an initiative to promote African music by Spanish institution Casa África, in co-operation with the Spanish Embassy in South Africa and the SAMRO Foundation. ... The fourth edition of Vis-à-Vis, the Spanish cultural project organised by Casa África (which leads Spain’s public diplomacy with African countries), the Spanish Embassy and the SAMRO Foundation, was held in Johannesburg in April 2013. Previous editions took place in Senegal, Cape Verde and Ethiopia. The aim is to increase the access of Spanish audiences to African music, creating direct relations between the directors of Spanish summer festivals (known all around Europe and great tourist attractions) and African musicians and producers."

Cultural diplomacy Hungary’s strength, says minister - politics.hu: "Cultural representation has always been one of Hungary’s strengths by which it is well recognised abroad, Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said at an event organised by the cultural affairs centre Balassi Institute in Budapest on Thursday. Martonyi said that the Visegrad countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Rep, Poland) have also become an important forum of political-economic cooperation through a strong cultural background and shared cultural roots. Pal Hatos, head of the Balassi Institute, said at the two-day event that the institute had organised some 200 exhibitions and 220 concerts abroad last year, while participating in 19 international book fairs and organising 15,000 Hungarian language courses to foreigners. Among the highlights of the past year he mentioned the Hungarian Days in Linz, which attracted 350,000 visitors and the recently ended US Smithsonian Folklife festival, which 1.2 million people attended."

In particular, he exploited the occasion to articulate and celebrate the central principle of public service reform: that it is possible to do better, for less. Look at the Home Office, he said: 'What was the prediction from the opposition three years ago? Crime would rise. And what has happened instead? Crime has fallen by more than 10 per cent.' This is the reward of a lengthy exercise in public diplomacy, launched in 2009.Four years on, the voters have grown used to the rhetoric of austerity. It would be stretching it to say that spending cuts no longer inspire alarm. But the incremental approach adopted by Cameron and Osborne, so scorned by some in the Tory movement, has allowed the public to grow used to the new realities. Image from article, with caption: George Osborne’s purpose last week was transparently political: to present Labour as a party introspectively obsessed with reforming itself and still hopelessly confused on economic policy

the motions to become persistently rolling from type to an using this drill down - swojersey.us: "Everybody has had the few example of component in sporting events activities or becoming interested in sports if in class day, Holding a team or frankly actively that they are. Along with this smell sports will often interest to all the people and tend to be better politically unbiased in comparison with what several events. Just how the olympic games determined vanity and patriotism in the most skeptical and apathetic britons i presume exhibits the energy that actions and sports are going to put out on you mind and give a lot of legitimate cause of it to be component to public diplomacy initiatives."

Nike Free Run 2 Womens Running Shoe Black White Volt - par dancequeen, planetechretiens.com: "nike free run 3 The actual display had been produceddeveloped to share the actual cable connections which hyperlink people almost everywhere. Nike Free of charge Footwear. Chip Cullen is actually areally the teacher associated with open public diplomacy within the University associated with La. He or she says Steichen's display launched within crowds of people since it journeyed through country in order to country. Nike Lunar Top notch. CHIP CULLEN: "I think element of their own great results had been which everyoneeverybody might identify a few factorone factora element associated with on their own inside

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Public Diplomacy Ronin - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Public diplomacy Ronin, that is me. A PD gun-for-hire. If only France had a PD French Foreign Legion. Give me a crust of bread, a hunk of cheese and a skin of wine. A beret and some boots, and I will do your cultural diplomacy."

FAMU alumnus sworn into Foreign Service - thefamuanonline.com: "In a class of 40, Donovan Harrell Florida A and M alumnus Calvin Hayes was officially sworn into the 172nd Foreign Service Officer Class on June 28. The class was sworn in by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, director general of the Foreign Service, at a ceremony in Washington at the U.S. Department of State. Hayes will serve as a public diplomacy officer. According to the Department of State, a public diplomacy officer’s duties include explaining foreign policy to foreign audiences, creating and managing cultural and information programs to help engage in different cultures, strengthening relationships abroad through media and coordinating foreign exchange programs.

Before serving in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for two years, Hayes will spend eight months at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Va., learning the local language, Bengali. He expects to work in Africa and eventually Latin America. He and his wife, Kindall 'Sunshine' Johnson – a FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication alumna, former Miss FAMU and employee in the Office of National Security in Washington – will depart spring 2014. ... Hayes graduated in 2010 with a double major in political science and public relations. While on campus, he was an active participant in the Student Government Association, NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. He credits these organizations for teaching him the value of teamwork and leadership. Hayes also completed two internships and received the $90,000 Rangle Scholarship to become a foreign service officer. He earned his master’s in public diplomacy this year from American University. Before becoming an officer, he worked on Capitol Hill, the State Department Bureau of Legislative Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in South Africa. Hayes encourages FAMU students to study abroad, learn a critical language and complete an internship overseas." Image from article, with caption: (From left) Lady Dhyana Ziegler, Calvin Hayes and Kindall "Sunshine" Johnson.

What does AMSTRAD stand for - "It is a company founded by Sir Alan Sugar, he took his initials AMS (Alan Michael Sugar) and added an abbreviation of the word trading ‘TRAD’ to form the company name of AMSTRAD (Alan Michael Sugar Trading). ... May be [sic] you like following questions. You can search in my website. I will post in future. ... Is Public diplomacycy at Syracuse or Strategic public relations at USC the better program to attend?"

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Virtual Student Foreign Service Projects - alliance.sdccmesa.com: VSFS is the U.S. Department of State’s virtual eInternship program for U.S. citizen college students to apply to contribute to the work carried out by the State Department, U.S. Agency for International development, Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. By committing ten hours per week from September through April, selected eInterns will play an important role in advancing the federal government’s reach in diplomacy, development, journalism, trade, and agriculture initiatives. ... The seven USDA projects at Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) offices at U.S. diplomatic posts available this year include (with project tag listed): Beijing o Provide market analysis and contribute to public diplomacy in China, the #1 buyer of U.S. agricultural products (valued at $26 billion.,"

and outreach program that will ensure Australia’s profile as a partner supporting Indonesia’s education development goals are both visible and recognised. We are seeking expressions of interest from Public Affairs Specialists based in Indonesia who can provide strategic direction, technical expertise and management in the design, delivery and monitoring of EPOS activities.You will have previous experience in high level event management; the development of webpage content, human interest stories, newsletters, media facts sheets and program reports;and have a strong ability to provide strategic advice and write substantive program reports in English." Image from from heading of blog

Chevening Programme Manager, British Embassy Beijing - ukcn.com.cn: "JOB SPECIFICATION[: ] Main purpose of job: The successful candidate will work in a busy and lively team located at the heart of the Embassy responsible for the day-to-day management of the Chevening Scholarship Programme in China, a two million pound public diplomacy scheme which each year sends about one hundred Chinese scholars to the UK to study. They will be expected to work closely with senior colleagues and other sections in the Beijing Embassy and China Consular network to deliver results under pressure. ... Professional skills Qualifications - Demonstrates high level of interest in education and/or public diplomacy."

RELATED ITEMS

Cut off aid to Egypt, Senate leaders say - ohn McCain and Lindsey Graham, Washington Post: Not all coups are created equal, but a coup is still a coup. Morsi was elected by a majority of voters, and U.S. law requires the suspension of our foreign assistance to “any country whose duly elected head of government

is deposed by military coup d’état or decree . . . in which the military plays a decisive role.” Vulgar image from

Is Democracy Possible in Egypt? - Carol Giacomo, New York Times: It remains distressingly unclear whether President Obama believes that promoting Egyptian democracy is a priority of American foreign policy. It should be.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Be ready to kill."

--Sgt. Michael D. Lynch of the West Virginia State Police, speaking to attendants at a recent workshop in the state capital, Charleston on how to survive a workplace shooting; image from

About Me

A Princeton PhD, was a US diplomat for over 20 years, mostly in Eastern Europe, and was promoted to the Senior Foreign Service in 1997. For the Open World Leadership Center, he speaks with
its delegates from Europe/Eurasia on the topic, "E Pluribus Unum? What Keeps the United States United" (http://johnbrownnotesandessays.blogspot.com/2017/03/notes-and-references-for-discussion-e.html). Affiliated with Georgetown University (http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/jhb7/) for over ten years, he still shares ideas with students about public diplomacy.
The papers of his deceased father -- poet and diplomat John L. Brown -- are stored at Georgetown University Special Collections at the Lauinger Library. They are manuscript materials valuable to scholars interested in post-WWII U.S.-European cultural relations.
This blog is dedicated to him, Dr. John L. Brown, a remarkable linguist/humanist who wrote in the Foreign Service Journal (1964) -- years before "soft power" was ever coined -- that "The CAO [Cultural Affairs Officer] soon comes to realize that his job is really a form of love-making and that making love is never really successful unless both partners are participating."